Taunt

Taunts are non-combat gameplay elements that can somehow 'manipulate' a battle. During the games, taunts have different effects such as increasing the player's Stylish Rank and even the D.T. Gauge. However, they were referred to as an "enemy intimidator" due to the effects of a taunt to an enemy. Taunts appear in every game installment except for Devil May Cry 2 and the reboot.

Devil May Cry
Taunts in Devil May Cry serve mainly to replenish the Devil Trigger gauge and prevent the Style Gauge from resetting. There are two kinds of taunts: single-handed and double-handed. Pressing the button rapidly will execute a double-handed taunt, while pressing the  button slowly or partially will execute a single-handed taunt. Double-handed taunts replenish more of the Devil Trigger gauge, up to two full glyphs, compared to single-handed taunts, which replenish a maximum of one glyph, but are more difficult to execute. The total amount of the D.T. gauge restored by a taunt is also affected by the distance Dante is from the enemy. The farther away, the less D.T. gauge Dante receives.

Taunts can be cancelled by jumping or rolling, but this forfeits the D.T. Gauge refill effect. Even cancelled taunts, however, prevent the Style Gauge from resetting. By holding one of the directional buttons at the beginning of the taunt, the player can get Dante to move before the taunt animation finishes but after the D.T. gauge replenishes.

Devil May Cry 2
Player-controlled Taunts were taken out of Devil May Cry 2 because the development team felt they did not fit with the direction of Dante's new personality. The player community roundly criticized both decisions, and taunts returned in all subsequent games.

Devil May Cry 3
The Taunting mechanism was expanded in Devil May Cry 3 to include multiple verbal lines delivered by Dante (and Vergil in the special edition). Pressing causes Dante to use a Taunt. Which line Dante delivers depends on his current Style Rank.

Replies
D - rank B/A - rank S/SS - rank SSS - rank
 * Come on, wimp.
 * Come and get me!
 * Huh, is that it?
 * You scared?
 * Hey, do your job!
 * Crazy!
 * Let's start the party!
 * Sweet, baby!

In the Special Edition, Vergil also has access to taunts. Like Dante, Vergil delivers one of several possible taunts, depending on which weapon he has equipped. Vergil's known taunts are: "You shall die", "Hmph, how boring", "Hmph, what's wrong?", ''"Come on!", "Where's your motivation?", "Now I'm motivated!", "Rest in peace", "You're going down..." ''and an evil laugh, the last one being used only in Nelo Angelo DT.

Replies (as an enemy)

 * Now I'm a little motivated! (after being hit)
 * Where's your motivation? (if Dante doesn't attack Vergil more than 10 seconds)
 * You will not forget this devil's power... (preparing Devil Trigger)
 * You are not worthy as my opponent! (preparing Devil Trigger)
 * You're going down... (preparing Devil Trigger)
 * Haaaaagh! (turning Devil Trigger on)
 * You trash! (before using Judgement Cut End)
 * This is the end! (before using Judgement Cut End)

Replies (as a playable character)
Yamato Beowulf/Force Edge
 * You shall die!
 * Hmph, how boring...
 * Hmph, what's wrong?
 * ...Come on!

Doppelganger also taunts Dante during their battle in Mission 17 saying, "Come on wimp!", "Hey, do your job!" and "Come and get me!".

HD Collection
When the player chooses the coatless DMC3 or coatless DMC1 character costumes for Dante he uses taunts recorded for the original version but which were left out. These are, "Huh, is that it?", "Hey, do your job!" and "Let's start the party!"

Devil May Cry 4
The function of Taunts in Devil May Cry 4 is slightly different than previous games. Not only do they have a greater impact on enemy behavior, but there are also more of them. Both Dante and Nero have three levels of taunts, with three taunts for each level except the highest tier, for which Nero has four and Dante only has two. Which taunt is used is random within the level, meaning that if the Style Rank is high, Dante or Nero will use one of the three high-level taunts.

Taunting draws the attention of nearby enemies, in case an enemy is attacking a demon, taunting it will force the enemy to attack the player instead. Performing taunts with a high style rank will produce more stylish Taunts, as with Nero's posing with the Red Queen and Blue Rose. Different Taunts have different effects on enemies, for example: some taunted enemies attack faster and more ferociously, while some demons react to a taunt by means of panicking. Taunting in Dante Must Die mode increases the chance of a demon entering its Devil Trigger.

Although this isn't a taunt, pressing the Taunt button (/) while running fast causes Nero to execute an attack called "Rainbow". It is essentially the double-footed kick he performs on Dante during the opening movie.

Special Edition
In Special Edition, taunts now gain even battle properties. The Vergil's Yamato withdrawal can actually deal damage and block attacks. Another Vergil S rank taunt that spins a summon sword on his index finger, also deals continuous damage and ranks up Stylish meter. Trish's blowkiss taunt makes it explode close to an enemy and lift it up in the air.

Nero
D-rank or none. B/A - rank S/SS/SSS - rank
 * What did ya say? - Huh.
 * Shall we dance?
 * Come on!
 * Bye-bye! - He-hah!
 * Scum! - he-he-heh.
 * Starting to heat up!
 * Phew - come on!
 * Okay, this may be fun.
 * Hey, hey, hey, come on babes... - okay.
 * Come on babes! - starts playing the air guitar.

Dante
D-rank or none. B-rank S/SS/SSS - rank
 * Come on!
 * Hey what's up?
 * Alright, baby!
 * Laughter.
 * Showdown!
 * Get outta here...
 * Shall we dance?
 * You need more training...

Vergil
D - rank or none B/A - rank S/SS/SSS - rank
 * Show me your motivation!
 * You think you stand a chance? - Huh.
 * Sigh, disappointing.
 * You're wasting my time.
 * Let's have some fun!
 * This shall be your grave.

Lady
D - rank or none B/A - rank S/SS/SSS - rank
 * Time to go to work!
 * One, two, three, sigh, you guys won't even pay for the pizza.
 * Hmm, time for a little maintenance.

Trish
D - rank or none B/A - rank S/SS/SSS - rank
 * May the Savior be with you, tsk, as if!
 * Sigh, might need a new look...
 * Do I look like a demon to you? - Blow kiss.